


Helping Hand

by eyes0ny0u



Category: SHINee
Genre: Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:29:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyes0ny0u/pseuds/eyes0ny0u
Summary: At some point everyone gets tired, some more than most.





	Helping Hand

Picture Prompt:

      “… thank you for flying Korea Air and have a great day.”

      The sound of buckles unlatching and seat belts hissing into their holsters punctuated the announcement. Jinki stood and stretched, glad the long flight was over at last.

      Minho climbed to his feet blinking blearily against the light. Taemin patted his seat and peeked under it, sighing with relief when he pulled out his mobile. Key rolled his eyes at the youngest, as he patted his hair into place.

      Jinki wasn’t surprised one was missing from the roll call in his head. Jjong was still wedged against the first class pod sound asleep.

      “Wake Jonghyun up,” he told no one in particular.

      Minho landed a loud smack on Jonghyun’s thigh, jerking the older man awake. Taemin yanked the blanket off of him as Key pulled him to a sitting position. Jinki picked up the headphones dangling from the man's mobile, still clutched in his hand. All of these done with the ease of nine years travelling the world together.

      The roles rotated among the members, because at one point, all of them had woken up wondering why they did this for a living. Weariness making them doubt the career they had chosen.

      During those times, someone had always reached out and offered an arm or a shoulder to help prop the member who needed the reminder that they weren't alone and that food and rest will come soon. Sometimes the assurance was hollow, but it was a comfort to know they weren't alone in the struggle.

      Jonghyun couldn't sleep despite the comfort of the first class seats that allowed the members to catch up on some needed rest. The sound of pen over paper had grown frantic with each passing hour. The low humming that usually accompanied the rhythm of Jonghyun's work faded into tensed silence. Jinki could hear the frustration building with each flip of the page.  
  
      When a low growl escaped his band mate, Jinki had yanked the notebook from under Jonghyun's hand. The two glared at each other. One in anger and the other in irritation. Both recognising the root of the other's mood.

      “Let me sleep if you don't want to,” Jinki told him in an even voice.

      “I'll be quiet!” Jonghyun hissed.

      Jinki tucked the notebook underneath a thigh, ignoring the bargain. “You know you're never happy with anything you write when you're like this. So what's the point?”

      “I don't care, just give it back, damnit!”

      "Use your goddamn phone."  
  
      "My eyes hurt."

      "Then give it some rest and go to sleep!"

      "It's _my_  notebook and you can't fucking tell me what to do."

      "SM rule book says I can."

      “Fuck you.”  
  
      “Dinner first, babe."

      Jinki smirked at the strangled sound that escaped Jonghyun. Realising Jinki wasn't going to return the notebook any time soon, Jonghyun settled against his seat with a huff. Crossing his arms in a show of displeasure. Jinki yawned, eyes already closed, missing the display.

      "I think I'm losing it," a whisper told Jinki just as he was about to drift off. It took him a couple of heartbeats to process what the words meant.

      "You're not losing anything, Jjongie," was his sleepy response. This wasn't new. The members had different ways of showing stress. Key dressed crazier, Minho got louder, Taemin got quieter and Jonghyun became insecure.

      "The words don't flow like they used to, Jinki," Jonghyun said in a vulnerable tone. "What if they're running out?"

      "Talent just doesn't "run out", Jjong," Jinki said, popping one eye open to look at the younger man. "But it does get tired. And that's what you are right now. Tired."

      "So am I tired all the time then?" Jonghyun snapped in his perverse desire to prove his degrading songwriting skills.

      "Hell, yes," Jinki answered . "You work when you haven't slept. You work when the rest of us sleep. So yeah, you're tired all the time."

      Jinki watched Jonghyun digest what he said. Lips pursing as he worked out the whys and whereoffs of the factors that was interfering with his work.

      "I really need to start sleeping better, don't I?," he finally said.

      "Yes, you do."

      "I need to stop worrying about winning the shows."

      "Wanting to win is healthy. Just don't obsess over it."

      "And I need to let go of the songs the management won't produce."

      "Unfortunately."

      "I should really, eat more, too. I look cute with a little weight on."

      "Mmmm-hmmm."

      Silence.

      "When are you going to work on your solo? You need to sing that piece I wrote you. That song is a masterpiece and it's wasting awa - ," Jonghyun was muffled by a blanket tossed at his face.

      "Shut up and sleep," Jinki hissed, plugging his earphones in.

      A little later, when the passenger behind him accidentally bumped his seat, Jinki woke up to Jonghyun slack-jawed with sleep.

      "Good boy," Jinki murmured, pulling the slipping blanket over the other's chest.

      The sleep was too short however and Jonghyun could feel jet lag riding him when he woke up. He absently accepted the face mask Jinki handed him. Being world reknowned singers didn't exempt them from stubble.

      At their manager’s signal, the band made their way to the exit of the plane. All of the members except Jinki checked themselves against every shiny surface they passed. Primping for the fan site admins who would be waiting at the receiving area for photos.

      Jonghyun normally found the circus that was their homecoming, reassuring and exciting. It was nice to know that their fans were still out there. But there were also times when their schedule was so packed, he wants to hide and cry from exhaustion.

      Today was one of those times. He wanted the world to leave him alone so he can sleep and keep his worries at bay a little longer.

      A warm hand grabbed his fingers, in a reassuring grip. Jonghyun doesn’t look up but laced his fingers with the familiar digits. He had held this hand for ten years, found comfort in the strength belied by its soft appearance. Marvelled at the feats it was capable of.

      It was also the hand that clutched at him in silence when their managers yelled at them during their younger years. The same fingers that surreptitiously wiped tears of sadness and pain. Fingers that never reached for him when it was in need but was always there when his own was left clawing at air.

      “Almost there,” Jinki reassured him, voice thick with sleep.

      Jonghyun squeezed Jinki's fingers in response before the other man could pull away. He kept his head bent but squared his shoulders. Fatigue was still weighing him down, but the reassurance was the bolster he needed to get through the airport floor, into the van and on his bed. Where he dreamed of the undulating ocean of pearl blue light and the  smiling faces of his members as they sang one of his new songs.

 

     ~ Fin ~

 


End file.
